SunCentral

BackgroundThe SunCentral Maroochydore project represents a unique opportunity to establish a new and expanded Central Business District (CBD) for Maroochydore and the Sunshine Coast.

Maroochydore is the Sunshine Coast’s largest urban centre. It is designated as the region’s principal activity centre and is the ‘capital’ of the Sunshine Coast. The development of a new CBD in Maroochydore is one of the key ‘game-changer’ infrastructure projects on the Sunshine Coast.

The region’s infrastructure projects, including SunCentral Maroochydore, the new Sunshine Coast Public University Hospital, expansion of the University of the Sunshine Coast and the Sunshine Coast Airport expansion, are transforming the local economy and its employment base.

SunCentral Maroochydore is the only green-field CBD development in Australia at this time and will include commercial, retail, city living and lifestyle precincts – and offer multiple investment and business development opportunities in a vibrant new city centre setting. SunCentral Maroochydore will be delivered over the next 20 years, transforming Maroochydore into one of the most functional and commercially competitive regional cities in Australia.

BriefThe brief was to create an identity (name, tagline and visual mark) for this keystone project that will support communications and its passage from investment to reality. The brand needed to both reflect its role as a pioneering piece of development and its importance for the Sunshine Coast as a whole. It also needed to inspire and engage a wide audience whilst feeling genuine and true. The people of the Sunshine Coast, investors and opportunists alike, will be drawn to the region for its authenticity and lifestyle. The brand must pay homage to the heritage, culture and unique appeal the region conveys while also encapsulating the optimistic future and vision of the project.

ApproachTo competitively position the central business district, the various attributes for why people choose to live/work/invest in the Sunshine Coast were explored. These included quality of access (roads), infrastructure, community, transport, lifestyle, culture, arts, employment, and gateways. The two key attributes developed were a genuine, friendly and coastal culture coupled with city sophistication. This positioning implies a place where the culture is friendly, warm, genuine and inclusive delivering a great lifestyle yet complemented by amenities that are pragmatic, progressive and functional or delivering the benefits of living in a city without having to live in the ‘city’.

The core of the brand held the values of heart, inclusive, connect and genuine. The project will be the heart of the Sunshine Coast – inclusive and welcoming to all brought to life in the energetic style mark with the heart at its centre. The vibrant and dynamic line-work creates a connective, inclusive shape with the treatment of the elements giving a feel of sophisticated innovation.